(i) Mayor (or person presiding)
(ii) Members of the Cabinet
(iii) Chief Executive
(iv) Monitoring Officer
Minutes:
The Mayor
The Mayor announced with sadness that she had been informed that Councillor Pucella’s grandson, Luca had recently passed away. She stated that she had sent a letter of condolence to Councillor Pucella and his family.
The Mayor announced that she and her Consort had the pleasure of opening a new residential care home in North Cornelly called the Morgana Court and Lodge. She and the Consort were taken on a tour and were amazed at the new ideas that had been incorporated into the site to stimulate clients with Dementia. She stated that music was being played in a bar which looked like a local public house, a bus stop in the corridor with a bench, telephone box and post box. There was also a room with a television screen showing moving country side and had people waving from the fields. With all of the sights and sounds in the room it resembled being on a train, which provided a fantastic way to stimulate memories and a great way of remembering for the residents.
The Mayor informed Council that she recently had the honour of attending the Bridge FM Young Achiever Awards. This impressive event celebrated the young people from around the county borough and recognised their achievements in business, training, education, arts, music and voluntary work. She stated that it was heartening to meet so many young people who are actively making a positive contribution to our communities.
The Mayor announced that November is when the nation remembers and honours those who have sacrificed themselves to secure and protect our freedom. She had represented the Authority at the Remembrance Sunday event held in Bridgend where the Mayor and Consort marched in the parade and laid a wreath on behalf of the Council and its residents. They also attended events which supported armed forces including the a concert for Help for Heroes which had incredible Choirs and Bands and the Royal British Legion Concert held in Maesteg Town Hall which was very touching.
The Mayor also announced that she had the pleasure of attending two events with the South Wales Fire and Rescue Service. The first was at Fire Brigade Headquarters in Llantrisant for the presentation of Long Service and Good Conduct medals for personnel who had served between 20 and 42 years. They also had the pleasure of meeting the dedicated staff and Officers who work as retained Firemen at Porthcawl Fire Station, who demonstrated the rescue tender and its extraction equipment before also demonstrating a simulated road traffic collision. She stated that i was clear to see that they all worked as a team and were extremely proud of the Fire Service.
The Mayor also announced she and the Consort had been invited to Swansea University to celebrate the Life of the late Rhodri Morgan. His brother described a picture of the ‘true’ Rhodri with AMs and other’s in academia sharing some of the stories when they worked together. It was very inspiring and showed what a great Humanitarian and Statesman he was.
The Mayor informed Council that she and the Consort attended the Royal Welsh Showground yesterday and launched the Argora Food Project which brought together like minded organisations and individuals from across Wales to discuss the challenges facing the produce sector. The project will be led by Bridgend County Borough Council in partnership with seven other Rural Development Plan Local Action Groups. This three-year initiative will be focused on creating strong supply-chains so that small rural-based firms can work together to meet the demands of retail and tourism businesses for locally produced goods.
The Mayor announced that as December is almost upon she was looking forward to being busy over the festive period and will be visiting a number of care establishments to wish residents and users a happy Christmas.
The Mayor also announced that all Members will all have received an email informing that the nominations for the Mayor’s Annual Citizenship Awards are now open. The awards are open to people who live in the county borough, as well as groups and businesses based locally. More information can be found on the Mayoral webpages where a nomination form can be downloaded. The deadline for nominations is Friday 26 January and the winners will be honoured at an event in March.
Deputy Leader
The Deputy Leader advised Members that the next round of pre-Council briefings have been scheduled to take place on 20 December, the topic will be Digital Transformation. On 31 January, there will be a pre-Council on the implementation of Universal Credit, and on 28 February there will be a presentation on the Local Development Plan. He stated that the final Code of Conduct training session is being held on 13 December at 2pm. This was specifically for those Members who have not completed this training during the current term of office. He also hoped that all Members will be able to attend a briefing from the Local Democracy and Boundary Commission, to take place at 4pm on 9 January 2018, which will see the Commission outline the work it will be undertaking over the next few years.
The Deputy Leader stated that Members will have seen the recent media coverage about the extremely encouraging recycling statistics. These have revealed that overall recycling between July and September rose from a 2016 rate of 57 per cent to almost 74 per cent for the same period in 2017.
The community recycling centres have recorded a 254 tonne increase in recycling between June and August, and waste sent for disposal as landfill during that same period decreased by 957 tonnes. 7,720 households have signed up for the AHP service, with an average of 100 additional requests being received every week. To date, 278 tonnes of nappies and AHP waste have been diverted from going to landfill. He informed Council that these results are extremely significant in light of the well-publicised issues and concerns that have been expressed about the introduction of the new scheme. He stated that whilst the scheme is not yet perfect and some work is still required with Kier to get the scheme fully to where the Council would want it to be, the results are nevertheless demonstrating that the new procedures are indeed capable of achieving the strict new national targets.
He was looking forward with interest to finding out how Bridgend County Borough’s performance will be officially rated when compared against other councils in Wales.
Cabinet Member Communities
The Cabinet Member Communities stated that as the Council’s Domestic Abuse champion, he was pleased to see a strong response to this year’s White Ribbon Appeal. A number of local events were organised, some of which are still ongoing, and the message this year was to ‘break the cycle’.
To help support this, staff from Calan DVS, PCSOs and the Police Youth Volunteers took a roadshow to different parts of the county borough to raise awareness and publicise the fact that a wide range of help and support is at hand for anyone who is suffering from domestic abuse or who suspects that it might be taking place with a neighbour, relative or friend. He informed Council that the roadshow will be visiting the Y Centre in Porthcawl on Thursday 30 November between 9.30am and 12.30pm, the Co-operative in Porthcawl on Monday 4 December between 10am and 12noon, and Asda in Bridgend on Thursday 7 December between 10am and 12noon. He hoped Members would show their support and he thanked Councillor David White for his efforts as White Ribbon champion. Further details about the White Ribbon Campaign, are available on their website www.whiteribboncampaign.co.uk
The Cabinet Member Communities announced that he was also delighted to see that the authority has worked in partnership with Porthcawl Town Council and that 15 new bins have been installed along Porthcawl sea front as a result. He stated that all of the new bins provided have been funded by Porthcawl Town Council, and will be serviced by Bridgend County Borough Council. He stated that there were now a third more bins in place and there was now no excuse for dog owners and visitors not to bag and bin their pet waste anymore. He thanked the Town Council for working with the Council, which demonstrates how such partnerships can operate for the benefit of local residents, and he hoped to see many more.
The Cabinet Member Communities reminded Members that at the last meeting of Council he announced the award of a £2,500 grant for the Caerau Minewater Project, which aims to create a heat network for local homes using water that has collected in old mine workings. Further to that announcement, he now had the pleasure in announcing that the project has attracted further grant funding, with the Council receiving a formal offer of grant from the Welsh European Funding Office, amounting to just under £6.5m for the further development of the scheme, subject to a degree of match funding. The Caerau Project is one of only three such projects in the UK, and the amount granted reflects the profile and kudos of the Project, and represents 100% of the grant monies bid for. No grant money will be drawn down until all the match funding is in place, but once in place the grant will enable the project to further develop. He congratulated all who are involved in this project and he would bring more information to Members as this exciting project develops.
Cabinet Member Social Services and Early Help
The Cabinet Member Social Services and Early Help announced that with forty-five Extra Care units currently under construction in Ynysawdre, he asked Members to help spread the word about a competition being run alongside the Jehu Group and Linc Cymru. Local people were being asked to help name not only the new development, but also the street that will run through it. He stated that the two successful suggestions will win £50 gift vouchers, and people can enter the competition simply by emailing their suggestions to sian.bridge@jehu.co.uk The closing date for entries is 1 December. He also informed Members that with a second Extra Care facility being built in Maesteg, this was a great idea and one that will help the local community become involved in this excellent development.
The Cabinet Member Social Services and Early Help requested Members help in raising awareness that the safeguarding of vulnerable adults and children is everyone’s business. He stated all can help prevent abuse and neglect simply by becoming more aware of the danger signs, not just the giveaway physical injuries, but also tell-tale changes in people’s behaviour. He informed Members that abuse can take many forms, and further details can be found by visiting the Western Bay Safeguarding Board’s website, www.WBSB.co.uk
Cabinet Member Wellbeing and Future Generations
The Cabinet Member Wellbeing and Future Generations gave an update on the Floor Space pilot project for addressing street homeless. Earlier this year, Cabinet approved funding for a provision, to ensure that street homeless people (over 18) had overnight sleeping space during the cold and wet weather. She stated that the Kerrigan Project was opened on the 1st November and is operated by Pobl (Gwalia) on the Waterton Industrial Estate, and has between 6 — 9 spaces available every night. She stated that potential service users present to the Gwalia Hub on Nolton Street during the day where risk assessments are carried out. If eligible, the user is offered a space and then is asked to present themselves at the Kerrigan project later that day. Service users are given food, a sleeping bag and mattress to use, and they are able to access the breakfast run by the Wallich when they leave the provision the next day. She informed Members that before the opening of the provision, the Wallich estimated 14 people were sleeping rough. Subsequent to the opening of the service, a rough sleeper count took place on the 9 November and 4 people were found to be sleeping rough. On that same night, 6 spaces at the project were occupied and over the initial 3 week period there have been 16 unique individual users. She stated that the project is monitored closely and the information gathered during the winter period will for a better understanding of the needs of this provision and will inform future decision making.
The Cabinet Member Wellbeing and Future Generations also informed Members of the Early Doors pilot project, which due to the loss of rented accommodation, is one of the main reasons households present as homeless or present as being threatened with homelessness. She stated that the Early Doors project, is run through Llamau and provides an early intervention service for both landlords and tenants in the private rented sector. It provides guidance, support and advice to tenants including debt and money advice with the aim of reducing evictions. With the imminent implementation of Universal Credit this project was expected to mitigate some of the expected consequence of this welfare change.
The Cabinet Member Wellbeing and Future Generations was pleased to announce that Halo Leisure, the social enterprise which runs Leisure Centres across Bridgend County Borough as well as leisure facilities in Herefordshire, Shropshire and Wiltshire, held its annual staff awards celebration last Saturday. Staff from across Halo's sites came together to recognise the contribution and success of their colleagues. She was very pleased to inform Council that several winners, were staff from Bridgend County, as follows:
· Volunteer of the Year 2017 went to Pencode Pool's very own Julie O'Connor.
· Employee of the Year 2017 went to Bridgend Life Centre's Customer Services Manager Stuart James.
· Manager of the Year 2017 went to Karl Paterson. Karl was described as a standout leader with a glass half full approach to life and management at the Life Centres in Maesteg, Ogmore and Garw.
· And the winner of Halo Leisure's Long Service Award was Sally Davis. Sally started in Bridgend County Borough Councils leisure department and is now the manager of Halo centres in Ynysawdre, Pencoed and Pyle - Sally has been committed to helping local people get more active for 25 years.
The Cabinet Member Wellbeing and Future Generations was very proud to have such pedigree team servicing the residents across the Borough.
The Cabinet Member Wellbeing and Future Generations announced that following an increase in complaints to the Shared Regulatory Services (SRS), Members may want to advise their constituents to be alert for ‘free trial offers’ which could result in them paying monthly sums for unwanted subscription goods and services. It was estimated that two million people across the UK experience difficulties trying to cancel monthly subscription payments, many of which have resulted from cold calls and scams. After an initial 14 day cooling-off period, some customers only realise months after the fact that they have been set up for continuous payments from their bank accounts. She stated that the warning from SRS comes during National Consumer Week, who advise that anyone who thinks they may have fallen victim to a scam or who wants more information to contact the Citizens Advice Consumer Service either online or by calling them on 03454 040506.
Cabinet Member Education and Regeneration
The Cabinet Member Education and Regeneration announced that Members will already be aware that this Council was instrumental in bringing the old watchtower at Porthcawl back into use by working alongside the National Coastwatch Institution. He was delighted to receive a recent email from station manager Phil Styles which informed me that the station has now been officially recognised as a search and rescue organisation by the Coast Rescue Co-ordination Centre based at Milford Haven. He stated that this was very well deserved as the station is currently the organisation’s second busiest in the UK. With a crew of 43 volunteers, they have logged more than 5,000 hours, recorded 4.500 vessel movements, been directly involved with 36 incidents and have helped monitor a further 46. He congratulated the volunteers on their success.
The Cabinet Member Education and Regeneration was delighted to attend the launch of the county borough’s new SEREN network. Designed to support the area’s brightest young minds, the network provides special events and workshops throughout the year that help them target places at leading universities. He stated that around 150 of the highest achieving A Level students gathered for the launch at Bridgend College where they met with representatives from the likes of Oxford and Bath universities. Also present was the Brilliant Club, a charity which supports children from under-represented communities to access the country’s best institutions. He stated that it has been set up in partnership with sixth forms, Bridgend College and Welsh Government, the network forms part of a wider regional hub and is sure to be of huge benefit to talented local young people.
The Cabinet Member Education and Regeneration also announced another recent launch was the county borough’s first-ever Junior Apprenticeship programme which is offering vocational courses in hair and beauty, public services, and construction or garden design. This was a partnership between Welsh Government, the Council, schools and Bridgend College and is supporting forty-five teenagers who are studying at the college while also working towards GCSEs in English and Maths. He stated that this was a great opportunity for year 10 and 11 pupils to gain hands-on experience, and Bridgend College has extensive links with local employers to help them get a head-start.
The Cabinet Member Education and Regeneration stated that Members will no doubt have seen local news about Bridgend Indoor Market’s new business enhancement plan. This has been produced alongside the Bridgend Market Partnership to create new stalls, attract more visitors and improve the overall shopping experience at the market. He stated that the traders were currently considering the proposals and their feedback was awaited. The proposals have been put together to achieve some very specific things. Among its proposals are a restructured rent policy, a 15 per cent rent rebate during the post-Christmas ‘off-peak’ trading period, the appointment of commercial agents to promote and let market stalls, the establishment of a Market Association and an improvement and communications plan, a market enhancement fund and more. He informed Council that this is a very exciting and ambitious piece of work which demonstrates the Council’s commitment, and which could prove to be the key for delivering a prosperous future for the indoor market. He acknowledged and thanked the Bridgend Market Partnership for all their efforts and support during the plan’s development.
Chief Executive
The Chief Executive announced that the budget consultation will come to a close this weekend on Sunday 3 December and he updated Members on how it was going and asked Members to encourage their constituents to make sure they have had their say before the deadline expires. He informed Members that the budget consultation is asking residents to help identify which areas should be prioritised in next year’s budget. To help achieve this, the Council has carried out a range of advertising across social media, online and in local newspapers such as the Glamorgan Gazette and Glamorgan Gem. He stated that a series of media release have been issued, the last of which went out earlier this week to help remind people about the imminent deadline.
He informed Council that he and the Deputy Leader also took part in a live debate on Facebook and Twitter where questions and opinions on budget-related issues were invited.
He also informed Members that the Council has met with local groups such as Bridgend Shout, Bridgend Youth Council, Maesteg-based over-50s group Shedquarters and members of Bridgend Business Forum in order to get their views and feedback. A simplified version of the consultation survey has been produced specifically for younger residents, and to date 100 responses had been received. He stated that a series of local workshops have been held at different venues around the County Borough, and the last one is due to take place on Thursday evening at Ogmore Valley Life Centre between 4pm and 6pm. To date, 1,572 completed budget survey questionnaires have been received and consultation carried out with the Citizen’s Panel. The majority of these returns have been filled in online, although the survey has also been available in hard copy format from local libraries. With the deadline looming, he hoped Members will encourage as many people as possible to have their say and help decide how these challenges are going to be faced.
The Chief Executive informed Council of the outcome of further error testing work undertaken on Housing benefit claims following the work carried out by the Wales Audit Office, wherein it had tested a sample of 45 Housing Benefit cases. The sample contained 11 cases with errors and when extrapolated would produce a hypothetical error of circa £1.9m. Further detailed work had been conducted with 120 cases checked, which revealed 2 errors in the sum of £97out of a total benefit sum of £500k. Following an audit of the DWP claim, errors totalling £350 had been found out of a total of claims of £50m. He stated that the DWP regard a reasonable variation to be £200k. In summary, he stated that no significant control weaknesses were found.
Monitoring Officer
The Monitoring Officer announced the following changes to the Committee cycle:-
He informed Council that the Chairpersons of each of the above Committees have been consulted and they are in agreement with the proposals.